There are
always lots of special moments and scenes when state championships are decided.
Athletes hit big shots when it matters most. Winners raise their trophies high
as fans cheer loudly, then pose for photos with that treasured piece of hardware.
And then
there are quieter moments that can be just as special and even more meaningful.
During the postgame ceremony after Russell-Tyler-Ruthton defeated New Life
Academy 59-49 in Saturday’s Class 1A boys basketball title game at Target
Center, we saw moments like that.
New Life had
been in a big hole for most of the game, trailing for the full 36 minutes. The RTR
Knights led by 18 points at halftime before the Eagles went on a 10-0 run to cut
the margin to three points with 7:28 left in the second half. RTR led 52-49
with 4:42 left and the Knights (31-1) finished the game with a 7-0 run.
The players
from New Life (26-6), which is in Woodbury, were of course crushed with the
outcome. Coming so close to your goal and your dream but falling just short?
Come on, that’s a tough deal.
As the teams
lined up on their respective free throw lines for the awards ceremony, second-year
New Life coach Robbie Whitney took a step or two forward, looked at his players
standing in a line, smiled, said a few words, clapped his hands a couple times
and stepped back into line.
The Eagles
then individually received their silver medals, hanging on red ribbons. Then
the Knights leaned their heads down as gold medals on blue ribbons were placed
around their necks. Both teams posed with their trophies as their fans cheered
and applauded.
In the
postgame interview session, Whitney was asked what he said to the players in that
moment.
He grinned
again and said, “I
told them to smile and keep their heads up. You know, it's never fun ending the
season on a loss but man, taking second place at state? This is something that
these guys are going to remember for the rest of their lives.”
He was
sitting at a table with three of the team’s nine seniors: Gavin Bertram,
Maxwell Briggs and Erick Reader. Whitney was the only one of the four at the table who was
still wearing his medal. On the wall in the media room, silent TVs were replaying
highlights from the game via the KSTC-TV broadcast.
As he talked
about what the Eagles had accomplished, Whitney leaned forward and looked down the table to the three
players sitting to his left and spoke directly to them.
“You don't get to state
championships every year,” he said. “You don't get to play in these games very
much. So just the ability to soak it all in, I just wanted them to remember that.
You guys have done something special this year that no one in our school has
done before. And even though we're 10 points short, whatever it was, I want you
guys to soak it in.”
There was
another moment, this one happening immediately after the postgame ceremony
ended. Whitney, wearing that never-ending smile, walked toward the RTR fans who
were sitting behind the New Life bench. He said a few words, gave them a wave,
and the folks in the stands smiled, waved back and applauded.
What was
that all about?
“I told them they made me a little
upset because they're pretty loud,” said Whitney, still smiling (of course). “They're
good at what they're doing. Every time there was a timeout, they started
screaming a little bit louder when I started talking. So I just wanted to give them
props. You can tell that team means a lot to that community. That’s special to
see, especially to play teams like that when you get here. All the towns coming
together and they're screaming, I love it. That's what high school basketball
is about.”
(You can read more about Whitney
here: https://www.mshsl.org/about/news/johns-journal/johns-journal-new-kid-block-vs-seasoned-veterans
)
The quote of the day came from New Life’s Reader, who said, “You
just can't give up. You can never give up. It doesn't matter, the score or the
time, you can never give up.”
Russell-Tyler-Ruthton
is no stranger to state championships. The 2023 title is their
fourth, the others coming in 2004, 2005 and 2018. The Knights’ only loss came
against Dawson-Boyd in the last game of the regular season, but they defeated
the Blackjacks in the Section 3 title game. They finished sixth at state last
year.
“I thought we had the capability to
at least return here and then once you get here, you know, there’s a chip, a
chair and a chance and you go out and just play hard. And we've done that all
year,” said RTR coach Daren Gravley.
A year ago,
New Life finished third at state. The Eagles also played at state in 2003
and 2004.
Albany Wins First
Class 2A Crown
The Albany
Huskies made history by winning their first state championship, defeating Minnehaha
Academy 72-65 for the Class 2A title. The Huskies (31-1) previously played at
state in 1971, 1981, 1997 and 2015.
The Huskies’
only loss this season was against Holy Family, the team that Minnehaha Academy (23-9)
beat in overtime in Friday’s semifinals.
Minnehaha made
its 11th appearance at state. The Redhawks were champions in 2013,
2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021.
Honoring
Officials
Eight longtime
MSHSL officials were honored at halftime of the Class 1A championship game with
Distinguished Service Awards. The honorees were: Jim Christensen of Northfield, Rick DeGardnerof
Vadnais Heights, Duane Hoecherl of Bloomington, Wes Knutson of Crookston,
Barry Langen of Kennedy, Tom Madura of Apple Valley, Pete Vrieze
of New Richmond, Wis., and Frank White, of Woodbury. Read about
them here: https://www.mshsl.org/about/news/awards/2023-officials-distinguished-service-award
Celebrating
Chisholm History
Members
of Chisholm High School’s 1973 Class A state championship team held a 50-year reunion at the state tournament.
That team won the first of the Bluestreaks’ three state titles under legendary
coach Bob McDonald; the others were in 1975 and 1991.
75 Years Of
State Tournament Radio
This year’s boys basketball tournament marks a
broadcasting milestone that’s unmatched in Minnesota. KDHL Radio 920 AM in
Faribault is providing its 75th year of baseline-to-baseline coverage.
The Mighty 920 went on the air in 1948. During the
one-class era, KDHL broadcast all tournament games. In recent years, 16 total
games have been broadcast each year, including all semifinal and championship games
in each class.
Gordy Kosfeld has been part of the tournament broadcast
team since 1988 and he has been joined by Roy Koenigsberg in recent years. Other
legendary broadcasters of state tournament games on KDHL include Tom Bachrach,
Tom Hartman, Steve Skogen, Gordy Hinck and Mike Morrissey.
Congratulations
to everyone at KDHL.
--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of
Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn
and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts.
Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org
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